The family of a Fall River man shot and killed by police has set up two GoFundMe campaigns to raise money to support them, with one of the campaigns calling for justice.
“Today is a sad day for my family,” read the description of one of the GoFundMe fundraisers, written by Elijah Knight on July 15. “Today we lost a dad, a friend, a father, a brother and a husband. Domonick Knight was a father of four and a husband. Before he left this earth, we were not prepared for this nor expecting this.”
“We are asking for help to pay for his funeral, to get a lawyer, and to help his family with future expenses,” Elijah Knight continued. “We can’t replace a father, a husband, a brother or a son, but we can help his family. Please find the kindness in your heart to help his family.”
In asking for help, the fundraiser stated that the funeral date has not been determined, though it also states that Domonick Knight’s services will be held on July 21.
So far, the fundraiser has received 170 donations totaling $15,000, with a goal of receiving $18,000.
In the description of a separate fundraiser set up by Nieema Knight, she wrote that “Fall River police shot my dad in the head and killed him,” and added that officers did not help him.
“Me, my mother and my 3 younger siblings were held at gunpoint and were out in the rain from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. waiting for answers, scared and disregarded,” she continued.
Nieema Knight added that she “can’t imagine how scared and alone my father felt in his last moments.”
“Domonick Cornwallace Knight deserved to be given a chance, a helping hand, and a caring environment,” she wrote.
The second fundraiser has so far received 124 donations totaling $5,529, with a goal of receiving $15,000.
What police say happened
On July 15, Fall River police arrived at a duplex at 117 Langley St. before 1:40 a.m. They had received several 911 calls from Domonick Knight’s relatives, which said he was experiencing a mental health crisis, authorities said. His relatives said he was expressing intent to harm himself and had a gun.
Officers secured the scene, evacuated the home’s other residents and brought a trained crisis negotiator to talk to Domonick Knight on the phone via text messaging or by loudspeaker, but he did not respond.
After nearly an hour of unsuccessful attempts to communicate with Domonick Knight, officers decided to enter the home to try to speak with him, police said. Fall River police’s Emergency Services Unit went into the home via the front door around 3:15 a.m. and quickly noticed movement at the top of the stairs.
Domonick Knight began shooting at officers in the doorway from the second-floor landing, police said. Police fired back at him while they moved out of the way, with body camera footage showing officers yelling at Domonick Knight to come downstairs.
Officers can be seen finding Knight lying on the floor of the landing with a handgun in his hand and a short-barreled rifle underneath him. They can be heard quickly calling for medical services as they put him in handcuffs.
Knight was rushed to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III’s office said in a statement. An autopsy is being performed on his body and forensic testing is being done to determine how he died.
The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the incident. No further information has been released.
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